CLEVELAND Contractors guilty in extortion

The Massaccis agreed to continue to cooperate.
By STEPHEN SIFF
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
CLEVELAND -- When a father and son are sentenced next month, their lawyers will argue they are among the victims of the extortion scheme.
Dante Massacci Sr. and Dante Massacci Jr. pleaded guilty Monday in U.S. District Court in Cleveland to one count each of violating the Hobbs Act, a federal law targeting public officials who extort bribes.
They were accused of paying off a Warren city official to get a half-dozen city construction contracts over a three-year period.
The name of the official whom they admit paying off has not yet surfaced in court documents.
A federal bill of information supporting the charge against them says the Massaccis paid him $70,000 to obtain more than $770,000 in city contracts for their company, South Main Sand and Gravel.The company is no longer in business.
Penalties
The Massaccis face up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine each, said Dave Serlajay, assistant U.S. attorney. Sentencing is scheduled for Feb. 27. The two men surrendered to the FBI after another contractor was sentenced for a similar offense. They agreed to continue cooperating with the government, Serlajay said.
When the Massaccis are sentenced next month, their lawyers will argue they are among the victims of the extortion scheme, said Atty. J. Gerald Ingram, who represents the younger defendant.
"If a public official comes and tells you you can't do business unless they get your money, in that case you are as much a victim as anybody else," Ingram said.
Massacci Sr., of Central Parkway Avenue S.E., Warren, is 80 and taking medication for cancer, Ingram said.
Prosecutors say he and his 33-year-old son, of Shadowood Lane, Howland, paid bribes for contracts, including the construction of a clubhouse at the city-owned Avalon South Golf Course and demolition contracts with Delphi Packard Electric Systems and on the Mahoningside Power Plant.